My Celestial Ascension - Chapter 925: The Duel (2)

Chapter 925: The Duel (2)

Isolde’s eyes widened in surprise the moment she saw the wooden sword appear out of nowhere in Yuan’s hand. It looked like nothing more than an ordinary wooden blade, with nothing remarkable about it.

“Are you perhaps looking down on me, Yuan? How do you expect to fight me fairly with a wooden sword?” she protested, clearly bewildered by his choice of weapon.

“Do not mistake this for an ordinary wooden sword, Lady Isolde. This sword is made from a very special wood and is almost indestructible. I mainly use it to practice my sword techniques,” Yuan explained as he lifted the blade near his gaze, gently running his fingers along its edge.

“How could a mere piece of wood be indestructible? That is far too ridiculous to believe,” Isolde replied, unwilling to accept such a claim, as she had never heard of such material before.

“Lady Isolde, there are many mysteries in this world that cannot be explained. This wooden sword is one of them,” Yuan said with a faint smile, firmly gripping it in one hand.

Slash! Bang! He casually swung the sword, as if merely testing its weight. Yet a deep gash appeared in the ground as an invisible arc shot forward, striking the arena floor.

“…” Everyone in the arena stared in utter disbelief, their mouths opening and closing, yet no words emerged.

Even Isolde was stunned. A simple, careless swing had carved into the ground and unleashed such force.

’A true monster… he is a monster wearing human skin!’ Isolde cried inwardly, and in that instant, her perception of Yuan changed completely.

She no longer regarded him as an ordinary human. He stood far above the people of the Human Continent—existing in an entirely different realm compared to the rest of humanity.

’I must use my full power to match him… It seems I have no choice but to become a monster myself,’ Isolde thought, her expression turning deadly serious.

“I must admit, Yuan. You are the first human I have ever met who has excited me so much… to the point of pushing me to my limits,” Isolde said as her body began to react strangely, an immense amount of blood emerging and wrapping around her form.

Her body transformed rapidly. Her size shifted, and a massive pair of wings burst from her back—thick and leathery, resembling those of a bat.

The wings were enormous, spreading wide enough to cover nearly half the arena as she hovered above the ground.

She became something monstrous. Her claws grew sharper and stronger, her eyes darkened, and her pupils burned crimson.

The transformation did not end there. Flames erupted from her body, sending scorching heat across the arena as the ground beneath her feet began to melt into molten lava.

“This time, the human is finished… Countess Isolde has taken her vampiric form. He had better surrender, or he will be burned to ashes by her flames,” Count Eldrick said with a chuckle, his crimson eyes gleaming.

“In your dreams… My husband can withstand any fire in this world. A mere vampire’s flame is nothing to him. Even the flames of divine beings couldn’t burn a single hair on his body,” Valeria replied calmly, her tone laced with mockery.

King Evander and the other vampire nobles remained silent after hearing this, choosing instead to watch how the duel would unfold now that Isolde was fighting at full strength.

Whoosh! Bang!

A tremendous explosion shook the arena as Isolde hurled a massive sphere of fire toward Yuan, attempting to end the battle in a single devastating strike.

Yet Yuan split the blazing sphere in half with one effortless swing, causing the flames to detonate harmlessly around him.

“You will have to do far more than that to defeat me,” Yuan said with a confident smile.

“In that case, prepare for the worst. Because I’m going all out now,” Isolde shouted with a wide grin before flapping her massive wings and shooting into the sky.

Once she reached a certain height, she stopped ascending and hovered in midair, looking down at Yuan from above.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of flaming spheres appeared across the sky, each as large as a massive boulder, illuminating the heavens with blazing light.

With a simple gesture of her finger, she launched all the fireballs toward Yuan at incredible speed, grinning from ear to ear.

Yuan, on the other hand, maintained a calm expression. He faced the storm of flames with unwavering confidence.

He showed no sign of being overwhelmed or even concerned.

His absolute composure shocked every vampire watching the duel; they could not comprehend where such confidence came from.

“Since you’re flying, I suppose I should do the same…” Yuan muttered quietly before his body began to rise into the air.

“What?!?!”

Every eye turned toward Yuan in shock, disbelief written across their faces.

“H-He can fly?! How?!” King Evander exclaimed in astonishment.

“This is nothing. Even I can fly,” Valeria said with a smug smile, crossing her arms.

King Evander and the vampire nobles could hardly believe what they were witnessing. They stared at the scene in stunned silence.

Meanwhile, Yuan moved at a speed Isolde could not even follow. With his wooden sword, he effortlessly cut through every fireball descending upon him.

BOOM!!!

Explosions erupted across the sky, sending shockwaves rippling outward as flames scattered like shattered stars.

“Y-You… How is this even possible?!?!” Isolde cried out, her eyes widening as Yuan suddenly appeared before her.

“It’s a secret…” Yuan replied with a soft chuckle before his expression turned serious.

“Since you’ve had your turn… it’s my time to go on the offensive,” he said, gripping his sword firmly.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished. A faint breeze brushed past Isolde’s back, and every instinct in her body screamed for her to move.

’What is this speed?? I couldn’t even see him move… it’s like he teleported beside me!’ she screamed inwardly as she forced her body to react with all its strength.

Yuan’s sword grazed her arm as it thrust forward, the force behind it generating a powerful gust that roared past her.

’I-I barely escaped… There is no way I can defeat a monster like him. He is perfect… far too perfect,’ she thought, her eyes now filled with a strange expression as she looked at him.

Her breathing grew ragged. She had exhausted herself just dodging that single strike, yet she now regarded Yuan in an entirely different light.

’What’s with that look on her face…?’ Yuan wondered, puzzled, half suspecting his earlier attack might have rattled her senses.

’However… why does this feel familiar? Have I experienced something like this before?’ he pondered, confusion crossing his features.

Yuan remained silent for a moment. He did not press the attack, allowing her time to recover while watching her with a curious gaze.

“I-I admit my defeat…” Isolde declared in an exhausted voice, her body shrinking back to its original form.

Yuan simply nodded, still confused, and slowly descended to the ground, with Isolde following suit.

Once they landed, Isolde walked toward him with a composed expression, her eyes locked onto his.

“You are the first person to push me to my limits, Yuan. You are truly impressive… perhaps too impressive,” she said before retracting her massive wings completely.

“You are remarkable as well, Lady Isolde,” Yuan replied with a smile as he put his sword away.

“How about coming to my residence tonight? I would like to discuss something with you.”

“Sure. As long as you’re comfortable having us,” Yuan answered.

“Then it’s settled. We will leave once I finish my matters here.”

“Alright,” Yuan nodded with a smile before the two of them returned to the others.